Against Their Will
by StrongHermione
Summary: Hermione and Snape are the unwitting victims of an impulsively cast spell. Now they are soul-bound and desperate to get out of it. But fate conspires to make sure their souls seek each other out on a nightly basis—will they find love? Or will they fight it, and each other, every step of the way? Rated M for suggestive themes; AU
1. Genus Formare Animas Ligandi Et Magicae

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Anything you recognise is the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. No money is made from the writing of this story._

_Thanks to Kallanit and LadyStiff for cheerleading this story for me. Thanks also to RussianDestruction for her help in the correct Latin pronunciation of the spell.  
_

_This story is in answer to a challenge from Nox Rosa Aeterna. The link to the challenge can be found on my profile page although some things have been tweaked a little bit. It includes a relationship between Hermione Granger at age 18 (in the year she turns 19) and Severus Snape who is still her professor. No graphic descriptions of sex will take place while Hermione is still a student.  
_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This story is canon only until the end of The Goblet of Fire. The Order of the Phoenix is canon up until the point when Voldemort possessed Harry in the Ministry Atrium. It is at that point, for the sake of this story that things change. Harry defeats Voldemort at that time. The only Horcrux that Voldemort made was the diary. The only other change is that Hermione's parents were killed in a Death Eater attack after Christmas in OOTP._

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**Chapter 1 – Genus Formare Animas Ligandi Et Magicae**

Ron Weasley huffed as he looked around the Great Hall. It was his class's designated study period, a time when they were forced to sit quietly and complete homework or revise for their classes. He looked around the room. The seventh years, of which he was one, were from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ron scowled across the room at the Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy who was currently in conversation with the Evil Git Snape. Malfoy was probably sucking up as usual. The hall was also occupied by lower year Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and first-year Gryffindors. Ron stared around the room at various people, mentally undressing a few of the girls and sending imaginary spikes and daggers into various Slytherins and members of opposing house Quidditch teams.

Ron sighed as he focused his attention on his two best friends, both studiously working on the opposite side of the table to him. He huffed a breath of air out of his mouth, trying to get their attention. Without looking up, Hermione Granger slid a large tome across the table to him and whispered harshly, "Do the assignment, for goodness' sake. Here, this book has plenty of information." He looked to his other best friend, Harry Potter, expecting to share their usual moment of camaraderie in the face of Hermione's swotty behaviour, but he was taken aback to see a look of annoyance on Harry's face instead.

With another huff, Ron pulled the heavy book toward him and began to noisily flip the pages. '_He's no fun since he started living with a Professor. I liked him better when he was more about a good time than grades_.'

Harry had been living under the guardianship of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, since Harry had defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic at the end of their fifth year. With the threat of Voldemort gone, and the Death Eaters capitulating and vowing Unbreakable Vows that they would not try to incite terror and unrest, there was no longer a need for Harry to reside with his blood relatives. Having been left the residence of number twelve Grimmauld Place, Harry and Remus took up residence there, dealing as best they could with the death of Sirius Black and figuring out the best way to go forward in their new dynamic of father and son.

Remus had returned to Hogwarts last year at the insistence of the school's Board of Governors. The DADA scores had never been higher than the year he had taught and everyone, even the Slytherins, agreed that he had been the best teacher they had had in the subject. It was his homework essay they were working on today.

'_Patronus Charm... I've been able to do it for two years already... Don't know why I have to do an essay on it... I already know all I need to know for it... He should be teaching us stuff we don't know..._' Ron's petulant thoughts swam through his head. Another, louder huff from him had not only his two friends looking up in reproach, but most of the seventh years sending him scathing looks. He sheepishly bent his head down and loudly flipped the pages again. Ron did not know it, but his continued huffing and the distracting noise of the turning pages in the silence of the hall had now garnered the attention of Professor Severus Snape and he began to make his way over to reprimand the miscreant boy.

What happened next was almost a comedy of errors. The page in front of him distracted Ron enough to finally stop flipping. The wand movements diagrammed on the parchment, along with the phonetic spelling of the incantation drew his attention. Without looking up, he began to wave his wand in the beautifully complex flourish, while at the same time incanting: "_Gen-us For-mar-ay Anny-mass Li-gand-ee Ett Maj-i-kay!"_ A light issued out of his wand, splitting and heading straight for Hermione and Harry opposite him.

At the last second, Professor Snape arrived on the scene and, with an ingrained sense of protection, pushed Harry out of its path. Undaunted, the light immediately shifted to him as the nearest target and was absorbed by him and Miss Granger. All the students in the vicinity watched in shock as the light entered both their bodies and disappeared. They both took a breath to begin yelling at Ron for casting a spell in the crowded hall when the light exited their bodies, swirling around them and shooting in and out of them, rays multiplying and multiplying until both were surrounded by pulsing lights of all colours. The sheer magnitude of the magic swirling around them finally became too much and the pair collapsed unconscious.

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_I would like to reiterate that Ron is not at all evil or malicious in this story, he is just a teenaged male. Ron is loved in this fic but he is a bit clueless._

_Please leave a review and let me know what you think.  
_


	2. This is Interesting, Very Interesting

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Any characters or locations you recognise are the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. I make no money from the writing of this story._

_Thanks to Kallanit and LadyStiff for cheerleading for me._

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**Chapter 2 – This Is Interesting… Very Interesting**

It took only seconds for people to spring into action. Ron immediately ran out of the Great Hall in search of another professor. Harry, Malfoy and another of the Gryffindor seventh years, Neville Longbottom, approached the downed witch and wizard to begin reviving them. As soon as they reached their hands toward them a great pulse of magic violently repelled them. Harry and Malfoy were both thrown backwards down the aisle while Neville was hurled across the table, scattering books, parchment, quills and ink everywhere. In all the hubbub, no one noticed a particular book propel off the wooden surface, hit the floor and skid across the stone, finally coming to rest against a schoolbag underneath the Hufflepuff table, right next to a small pile of other texts.

Another two students had been fiercely driven back from helping Hermione and Professor Snape when a breathless Ron arrived back on the scene with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and the school nurse Poppy Pomfrey in tow. Recovered enough from his own earlier experience of being hurtled into a group of students, Harry quickly stopped the older witch and wizard from sharing the same fate. Dumbledore watched on as Madam Pomfrey scanned the victims with her wand and deemed them safe enough to transport. Tentatively, Dumbledore sent out a tendril of magic toward his Potions Master and, when it appeared to be accepted through whatever forces were at play, strengthened his spell and levitated the man from the room. Madam Pomfrey followed with Hermione Granger in tow.

They were met on the stairs by an extremely worried Professor Minerva McGonagall who had been making her way down for lunch.

Two years ago, just after the Christmas break, it had been Professor McGonagall's sad duty to inform one of her favourite students that her parents had just been killed in a Death Eater attack. It was the first overt attack by Death Eaters since the revival of the evil Dark Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic and its puppet news publication, _The Daily Prophet_, were quick to attribute the attack to notorious escaped convict Sirius Black and his band of newly freed Death Eaters. In truth the attack was undertaken upon the orders of Lord Voldemort by Peter Pettigrew, Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband Rodolphus. Pettigrew had provided the information about Hermione being the extremely clever Muggleborn friend of Harry Potter and Voldemort sought to weaken Harry by killing his best friend's parents. Being Muggles, Mr and Mrs Granger had no resistance to the wizards and mad witch, all of whom were strong in their abilities, and they quickly succumbed to the torture and injuries they sustained.

In the aftermath, there had been several discussions about what to do with Hermione's guardianship. Forgetting that she was even in the room, the members of the Order of the Phoenix were throwing ideas back and forth—suggesting placement possibilities, discussing the legal ramifications of emancipating her given her age of sixteen, spiriting her out of the country as soon as possible… only one person noticed the young witch unobtrusively slip from the room in tears.

Minerva had followed Hermione to her bedroom and sat with the girl in silence while she cried out her grief and despair. They were in the midst of a war; it was easy to forget that the deaths of two people they had all either only very briefly or never met would have a profound and devastating effect on their only child. Minerva listened while Hermione told her favourite teacher of family holidays, day trips to museums and galleries, outings to the theatre and quiet nights at home in front of a fire either reading or talking together. It sounded like an idyllic life for an intellectual child such as Hermione and it really was.

Now here she was, only sixteen years of age and all alone. On a mad impulse, an impulse she had not for one second since regretted, Minerva proposed that Hermione come and live with her. Hermione had gratefully accepted the offer and likewise had not regretted it for one second. Minerva helped the young woman with the immediate task of arranging her parents' funeral and settling their estate. Hermione had been left a moderately wealthy young witch once everything was said and done, her parents had been very successful in their field and that, coupled with their own inheritances and some wise investments over the years, meant that Hermione had the world at her feet.

Now, after two years, Minerva and Hermione's relationship was that of an official, acknowledged mother and daughter. Therefore, the older woman's heart clenched and her breath caught in her throat when she identified her unconscious child being levitated by the school nurse. Abandoning her usual calm demeanour, the Transfiguration professor rushed up to Madam Pomfrey demanding to know what had happened. Harry, who had followed his best friend from the Great Hall filled her in on what had occurred. Sparing only a scathing glance toward a sheepish Ron Weasley, Minerva followed the procession to the Hospital Wing after promising Harry she would keep him abreast of any developments. The mother inside her was screaming that Hermione would be spending at least the night in the Hospital Wing or else in her own quarters where she could keep an eye on her but she would wait for the official diagnosis.

Once in the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore placed Snape on his usual bed while Madam Pomfrey continued on to one of the beds further down. There was brief pandemonium when her spell faltered and Hermione nearly crashed to the ground. It was only the quick reflexes of the Headmaster that saved her from any injury and he moved her to the nearest bed, the one next to where Professor Snape currently lay.

After breaking up the two squabbling witches—Minerva was berating the nurse for dropping her charge while Madam Pomfrey was trying to defend herself by describing the external force of magic that interfered with her spell—Dumbledore gently suggested that Madam Pomfrey should perhaps begin to ascertain what might have gone wrong.

Squaring her shoulders and huffing once more at Minerva—_really, as if she would deliberately drop one of her patients—_Madam Pomfrey strode toward the two infirms she had lying on the beds. The same force of magic that had violently repelled the students in the Great Hall reacted again and the good matron suddenly found herself on her back on a hospital bed across the room.

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully and looked first at the two prone figures before him and then across to the bewildered nurse. "Well this is interesting," he mused. "Very interesting."

"_Interesting_?" Minerva repeated incredulously. "Albus, I worry for your mental health at times! There lies the Head Girl and the Head of Slytherin House—no one able to touch them—and all you can say is this is _interesting_?"

"As regrettable as it is that these two find themselves in this predicament, it does not change the fact, Minerva, that this situation is indeed interesting," Dumbledore replied in his maddeningly clam way. He turned to Madam Pomfrey who had recovered to re-join them. "Poppy, perhaps you should cast your diagnostic spells from here," he suggested.

Madam Pomfrey raised her wand and began with the spell she had used in the Great Hall to determine whether or not it was safe to move the pair. She gradually increased the strength of the spells she was casting until she felt resistance. "Albus, all I can determine is that they are in no immediate danger of dying. I do not understand it—something is preventing me from being able to diagnose anything further."

The three stood gazing at the peacefully sleeping pair on the beds in front of them. "They appear to have strong magic protecting them. I believe we should trust in that for now. Whatever spell it was that Mr Weasley hit them with it does not appear to be having an adverse effect. I propose we let them sleep it off and deal with whatever it was when they wake up," Professor Dumbledore said authoritatively.

The two witches had little choice but to agree. Madam Pomfrey bustled off to her desk to begin notes for Hermione and Snape's medical files while Dumbledore led a reluctant Minerva from the room, promising her that Poppy would let them know as soon as there was a development. He consoled her with the thought that she could return to the Hospital Wing immediately upon the completion of classes that afternoon.

As the attentions of the three of them were on other things, they missed the two tiny balls of light that rose from the chests of Hermione and Snape and joined in mid-air between them. The ball pulsed several times, colours swirling through it, before it split again and settled back from whence it came.

Several hours later, Minerva was sitting in a chair as close to Hermione's bed as she could. An empty tray sat on a small table next to her as well as two full dinners being kept under stasis for the moment for the sleeping pair. Still no one was able to venture close to them, nor could Madam Pomfrey get close enough to determine anything more than that they remained in no danger. Dumbledore had poked his head into the room at several points during the evening which was an indication as to how worried he was for the pair, as had Harry Potter, who was almost beside himself with anxiety over his best friend's condition.

Minerva would not be moved from her daughter's bedside, even when it came time for the older witch to go to bed herself. She transformed into her Animagus form of a cat and comfortably curled up on the chair she was in and promptly fell asleep. She slept so soundly that she did not even stir when one of the occupants of the beds rose just before the midnight hour—exactly twelve hours after the spell had been cast—and climb into the next bed with its occupant. The magic that had been protecting them all afternoon swirled around them, forming an impenetrable bubble that did not allow for sound to escape or sight to intrude just as the witch and wizard joined lips in a heated kiss.

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_THANK YOU for the incredible response from the first chapter—it was beyond my wildest dreams and I only hope you enjoy the story enough to keep reading. Next chapter is the reactions of Snape and Hermione._

_I know these are all fairly short chapters. Apart from the first chapter, I promise the rest will be in excess of 1,500 words. I'm trying not to get sucked in to epic chapters :) Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts._


	3. I Believe You Are the Soul Bound Couple

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Any characters or locations you recognise are the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. I make no money from the writing of this story._

_Thanks to Kallanit and LadyStiff for cheerleading this story for me._

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**Chapter 3 – I Believe You Are the Soul-Bound Couple**

The first rays of the sun broke through the darkness of the Hospital Wing just after 7:00am. Hermione stirred as the light dawned and began to wake. Her first thought was about how comfortable and warm her pillow was. Usually during the freezing nights all of the pillow, bar the little space her face took up, would be cold and unusable come morning. It was a great way to wake up she had discovered during her years at the school. Just move your face to a cold corner and instant alertness. Not this morning though. She attempted to bury her face a little bit, but her pillow would not yield. Suddenly several realisations came upon her all at once. She was not lying on her normal pillow, which probably meant she was not in her normal bed but she felt safe... and warm so there did not appear to be a need to be alarmed. She sniffed in the early morning light and got a distinct whiff of sandalwood, spice and _male_. She stiffened as she realised there were arms about her—arms which had tightened when she moved.

'_Oh my God! I'm lying in a bed with a man!_' Her brain flooded with sudden understanding of the situation and in her panic, found only one way to react. She screamed… loudly.

Severus Snape had been having a lovely dream. Visions of naked, female flesh accompanied by the sounds of sensual, throaty moans had been flitting across his subconscious mind when he was all of a sudden woken by the scream of a Banshee. Startled from his sleep, he was suddenly aware that he was in fact not alone as was his normal state of a morning. With the screams of whoever was occupying the bed still ringing in his ears and the tussle as they fought to extricate themselves from each other, he found himself in short order on the floor. The sudden cold assaulting bits of him he preferred to keep warm—_very warm_—alerted him to the little detail that he was in fact naked.

He had the fleeting thought to grab a sheet before the more pressing need to dodge a hex became apparent.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!"

_Hex_.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

_Hex_.

"WHY AM I NAKED?!"

_Hex_.

"WHY ARE _YOU_ NAKED?!"

_Hex_.

For a few minutes he listened to the female screaming and dodging what he recognised as stinging hexes before a loud, authoritative "_EXPELLIARMUS!_" boomed through the room. Snape had not even been able to identify the screaming harridan; he was too busy ensuring she did not hit him with her strong hexes. A few of them had been too close for comfort.

In the silence that followed, Snape quickly pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around himself. Standing erect, he finally was able to take stock of the situation. He found himself in the Hospital Wing, and standing in the room were Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey, Minerva McGonagall and Hermione Granger. Given the fact that Miss Granger was wrapped in a sheet as he was and she was currently the only female in the room without a wand in her hand, Snape quickly deduced that it was she he had woken up with. He closed his eyes and turned his head. '_This is _not_ going to end well_.'

Focusing on the other three occupants of the room, he sneered at the daggers coming from the eyes of Minerva and scoffed at the look of disapproval from Madam Pomfrey. He finally turned eyes on his employer and was surprised to see amusement in the twinkling eyes of the old man. '_That's it; he's finally gone around the twist_.'

"Miss Granger, may I have your word you will refrain from hexing Professor Snape if I give you your wand back?" the Headmaster asked with a smile. Hermione nodded tightly and the aging wizard handed her the length of vine. She did not make a move to hex him, but Snape kept an eye on the hand now tightly gripping the wand. "Well, now that we are all sorted, how about we try and ascertain what happened. Severus, Miss Granger, what is the last thing you remember?"

Hermione and Snape both stared at him as though he had lost his mind. Minerva also pursed her lips in disapproval. '_Surely the fact I woke up in bed, naked, with Professor Snape is something we should explore first!_' Hermione thought. Having spent much time with the man during the preceding summer holiday as well as the recent Christmas holidays, she knew the best way to move forward with the Headmaster was to play his game.

With a slightly exasperated shake of her head, she replied, "I remember Ronald saying some sort of spell and then being hit with a light. That's it until I woke up with _him_."

"I, too, remember the same thing, Albus," Snape agreed.

"Nothing about how you ended up in the same bed?" Albus prompted. Both shook their heads negatively. "Or what might have happened once you were there?" Again they both shook their heads in the negative although a blush quickly rose on Hermione's face as she did so. "Well, from what we have ascertained, Mr Weasley did in fact cast a spell although he neither remembers what he said, nor which book he found the spell in." Albus paused as Hermione and Snape both scoffed in unison. "Witnesses report the light being absorbed by you both and then exiting your bodies, swirling around and vanishing in and out of you until you fell unconscious. Despite several attempts, no one was able to touch you and so we brought you here for the night. Minerva was watching over you but I am guessing she fell asleep."

Minerva blushed guiltily. Perhaps if she had managed to stay awake, her daughter would not have found herself in the predicament she now did. She was hoping beyond hope that this situation had occurred somehow due to the magic at play here. Knowing Snape's character as she did, she took some comfort from the fact that she knew he would not consciously engage in immoral acts with one of his students. Indeed if any other male had been standing before her right now he would already be under the care of Madam Pomfrey—Minerva would not have confined herself to stinging hexes in the defence of her daughter's honour. Plus the fact that they had woken in _his_ bed and not Hermione's also meant he could not be held entirely to blame.

"Something was protecting the two of you," Dumbledore continued. "Something very powerful. Now that the two of you are conscious, Poppy, perhaps you could try your diagnostics again."

Madam Pomfrey raised her wand and scanned it over Hermione. With a puzzled frown, she then turned to Snape and, despite his fierce scowl, performed the same spell on him. "That is perplexing," she said before scanning Hermione, then Snape again. She was about to scan them for a third time when they both vocally protested.

"What is perplexing, Madam Pomfrey?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"I do not believe either of you have returned such a healthy reading before. Severus, you certainly have not been anywhere near as healthy as this spell indicates since you were a student here." Her unspoken words said more—everyone in the room knew she meant since before he had joined the Death Eaters.

"What magic is this?" Snape demanded harshly. "Albus, I demand to examine Weasley's memory. We must know whatever it is he has done!"

Albus's mouth turned down slightly. "I have already examined the memory Mr Weasley was very eager to impart," he said. "Unfortunately I am only able to make out garbled words. It appears he does not remember very clearly himself."

"He got the spell from a book I gave him," Hermione suddenly remembered. "All we need to do is find it and we'll be able to counteract it."

"Which book was it, my dear?" Albus asked.

Hermione's eager face fell a little. "Oh, I checked out so many. I can't remember the exact one I gave him. But surely Madam Pince will have a record of the books I took from the library. We can just check all those."

"You have been a student here for six and a half years, Miss Granger. In all the time you have spent in the library surely you should have figured out by now that the books are not checked out in the same manner as a Muggle library," Snape said condescendingly. "The books all have charms on them to return them to the library should they pass their due date. Madam Pince does not keep records of what each individual student is checking out."

"Oh," Hermione said in a small voice, looking down at her feet. Being the conscientious soul she was, she was never late with returning a book and so had never had a reason to know that the scan Madam Pince ran over each book was a simple return-to-owner charm, rather than a record of what was leaving the library.

"Now as to the predicament we have found ourselves in this morning…" Dumbledore gestured to the two of them still only covered in sheets.

"Albus, I swear I know nothing…"

"I don't know—I woke up and he was in the bed with me…"

Both victims were earnest in their vehement denials. Dumbledore was at a loss with how to proceed here. Luckily for Snape, Hermione was well over age—at least he was safe on that moral front. The professor/student thing was a touch more problematic but it was not without precedent. Of course the last time it had been brought up was over two hundred years ago when this sort of thing was somewhat more common… well, a precedent was a precedent and they would simply deal with each problem as it came up. Like Minerva, Dumbledore knew that Snape's character was unimpeachable up to now in a matter such as this.

All of them were broken from their contemplations when an owl began pecking at the window. Dumbledore waved his wand to open the glass pane and allow the bird entry. It flew straight for Snape and hovered in front of him, allowing him to remove the letter tied to its leg. Once Snape had the letter in hand, the owl continued to hover in front of him, giving the dark man an anticipatory look. "I am standing here with a sheet wrapped around me, you addle-brained feather-duster. Where do you suppose I might be concealing an owl treat on my person?" he sneered at the bird. The owl let out an offended shriek and pecked Snape on the hand before flying off in an affronted manner. Hermione could not help laughing at the expression on her professor's face.

With a shake of his head at Hermione's reaction, Snape turned the envelope over to read the front—and promptly dropped it.

"Severus?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

Snape bent over to retrieve the envelope. "It is addressed to Mr and Mrs Severus Snape," he said tersely.

Hermione's eyes widened and a wave of anger washed over her. "Well, you're just a fine husband aren't you?" Hermione shrilled. "You're married, yet you slept naked with me! That is one lucky witch, let me tell you!" she continued sarcastically. She was still seething at the presumptuousness that had found him in bed with her that morning. She would reluctantly concede this was wildly out of character for him, no doubt a residual effect from the spell Ron had cast on them. He was obviously not acting from his conscious mind, but he had one of the most disciplined minds she had ever come across! Surely he, of anyone, would be able to control his sub-conscious enough to prevent an occurrence such as this. She felt she had every right to be angry with him, especially now that she knew he was married! '_He kept that pretty secret_,' she thought.

"You are not married," Madam Pomfrey could not help but blurt.

"Thank you, Poppy, I am aware of that," Snape spat acerbically. Hermione looked quite startled at this revelation as he tore open the envelope and extracted the missive from inside. He read the letter quickly and handed it without a word to Dumbledore. The Headmaster adjusted his glasses before reading aloud:

"_Dear Mr and Mrs Snape,_

_We at the Ministry of Magic wish to congratulate you on your binding. This type of binding is quite rare and as such you may not be aware of your responsibilities to the Ministry in relation to it._

_You will both be required to submit your wands for registration and register your new magical signatures in accordance with both the Marriage Recognition Act of 1873 and the Magical Signature Registration Act of 1996. _

_While at the Ministry it is advised you both update your records and your wills held at the Magical Registrations Office._

_With warmest regards and sincere congratulations,  
Marigold Brown  
Department of Relations  
Ministry of Magic"_

Snape looked at Dumbledore blankly when he had finished reading. "To whom do they think I am married?" he asked.

Dumbledore was still holding the missive in his hand. He looked again at Snape, then Hermione and suddenly everything became clear. "Oh dear," he said. '_Swapping magical lights, encasing magic, preventative magic, unconscious consummation… they are the soul bound couple!_'

"_Oh dear,_ what, Albus?" Minerva asked.

"Now, Severus, Hermione, I wish for you to remain calm." Dumbledore held a placating hand up to them. He watched as Snape's face turned to thunder, catching onto what the Headmaster was imminently going to impart. Hermione's expression turned fearful and her hand covered her mouth as she, too, guessed what he was about to say. "I believe you two are the soul bound couple mentioned in the letter."

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_Reactions in the next chapter… and does Ron maybe pop his head in to see how his friend is? Wait and see…_

_THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of them and hope you continue to enjoy the story._


	4. There Goes Your Would-Be Husband

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Any characters or locations you recognise are the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. I make no money from the writing of this story._

_Thanks to Kallanit and LadyStiff for cheerleading this story for me._

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**Chapter 4 – There Goes Your Would-Be Husband**

"_I believe you two are the soul bound couple mentioned in the letter."_

At Dumbledore's fateful words, the couple in question collapsed onto the bed they had recently slept in together.

"Soul bound, Albus, that… that's absurd!" Minerva was flabbergasted. "Surely you are mistaken…" she trailed off.

"Minerva, I am rarely mistaken," Dumbledore replied. He was not being egotistical, merely stating a fact they all knew.

Minerva was pacing in her agitation, '_How could this have happened?_' She only wanted the best for her daughter, the best opportunities, the best goals, the best suitor… not that Severus was the worst suitor… far from it in fact. If she were questioned she would actually be hard pressed to name better… but she wanted Hermione to find this out for herself, the journey of the discovery of love was something every young woman deserved to undertake and now it seemed she was thrust into a soul bond… "Albus, is there some way to confirm this?" she asked.

"Of course, if I may," he gestured to the couple still sitting on the bed, wrapped in sheets. At Snape's nod, Dumbledore waved his wand in an arc and softly incanted, "_Anima Reprehendo_." The magical auras surrounding Snape and Hermione shone visibly. Thin strands could be seen crackling across the air between them and being absorbed by each other's magic. The colours of their auras were almost identical, and although Snape's was of a several shades darker hue, everyone could see it was getting lighter by the moment, almost as if it were being cleansed. Likewise, Hermione's was becoming slightly darker, as though their souls were balancing each other out. They were both a veritable rainbow of colours. All except Hermione, who had never seen this phenomenon, were stunned speechless. Auras usually comprised of up to three very distinct colours. The power emanating off these two was indeed a sight to behold.

"It appears my presumption is correct. Mr Weasley has somehow managed to soul-bind the two of you and since it appears you have consummated your bond, the Ministry of Magic has acknowledged it in accordance with the law," Dumbledore said.

"But which bond?"

"How can we get out of it?"

Hermione and Snape asked their questions at the same time. As though he had just remembered that she was in fact there, Snape stood from the bed and towered over the witch. "I refuse to be bonded to a child!" he seethed.

Hermione stood and fronted up to him. "Well I refuse to be bonded to a miserable git!"

"Better a miserable git than an insufferable know-it-all!"

"Better an insufferable know-it-all than a dungeon bat!"

"Miss Granger—"

"Don't you mean Mrs Snape? What have you done? If you could only keep it in your pants we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Me? I don't recall you screaming and pushing me off the bed and hexing me until what must have been _long_ after performing this act! Really memorable lay, so memorable in fact that I can recall nothing of it!"

"Well _I_ can feel the evidence of your obvious enjoyment drying on my thigh!"

"Just as _I_ can feel your obvious reciprocation on my own person! And just how is this my fault? If you weren't friends with such moronic imbeciles that they would just try any spell they come across in a book then neither would we be in this mess!"

Hermione finally took pause at this statement from Snape. "You're right," she said, looking off into the distance as awareness overtook her expression. "Why are we fighting each other? We need to go after Ronald Weasley!"

The young man in question showed his impeccable timing with his entrance into the room. No one noticed until his companion shouted, "Hermione, you're awake!"

Hermione and Snape's visions encompassed only the redhead who was the current target of their considerable ire. Before he knew it, Ron was the victim of a Bat Bogey hex and a Slug Spewing hex, cast at him by two people whose wands he avoided at all costs. Harry drew his wand in an ingrained reaction to defend himself but he was quickly disarmed by Professor Dumbledore. For good measure, the Headmaster also disarmed the Potions Master while Minerva disarmed her daughter.

"What the," Ron paused to spew a slug, "bloody hell was that for?" he asked. Another slug quickly spewed from inside him. Madam Pomfrey huffed and conjured a bucket for the redhead to spew the slimy invertebrates into. He had to contend with slapping away the bat bogeys at the same time.

Snape suddenly advanced on him. While spewing another slug, Ron had the unbidden question in his mind of, '_How can Snape still look so menacing with only a sheet wrapped around his waist?_'

"You imbecilic, bedlamited, valetudinarian, energumened, aliened, MORON!" Despite herself, Hermione was extremely impressed at the number of unique synonyms Snape had managed to come up with on the spot simply in order to call Ron an idiot. "This whole thing is entirely your fault! Detention, Weasley! You will still be scrubbing cauldrons when your grandchildren are attending this school!" Snape thundered at the cowering redhead.

"What did I," _slug spew_, "do?" he whined pitifully.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked shrilly. "WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU MANAGED TO IRREVOCABLY BIND ME WITH PROFESSOR SNAPE YOU STUPID, LAZY, WHINY, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING _ARSE!_" Hermione broke off from her tirade panting. She quickly geared up again though. "How hard is it for you to once, just ONCE, do an assignment as asked? '_Write a three-foot essay discussing the Patronus charm and its uses. Discuss how your own Patronus, or that of someone you know, reflects the caster's personality_.' Simple! You already know most of the material. Instead you procrastinate and muck around and read material not even remotely relevant, cast a completely unknown charm and now I'm married to SNAPE!"

"Professor Snape," Ron corrected.

Harry caught her a second before she would have landed on Ron. Her fists had already been raised. He gently wrestled her to the bed and sat her down before reacting to the news himself. "But…but…married? You're still a student! Professor Dumbledore, surely you can dissolve it," he spluttered.

"Calm down, Harry. I know you are worried for your friend but we have the situation under control. Why don't you take Mr Weasley to breakfast while we finish up here? I'm sure I don't have to tell the two of you to use your discretion," Professor Dumbledore said sternly.

Hermione snorted. "Discretion? From Ronald? Please! Short of an Unbreakable Vow, there will be no silencing him! He has no filtering system, it will be in the middle of the Great Hall when he blurts something out at the top of his lungs," she predicted.

"She is right, Albus," Minerva agreed. Harry nodded his agreement as well, garnering a look of betrayal from his best friend. Harry simply shrugged; there was no denying the truth. "Perhaps memory modification," Minerva went on to suggest.

Dumbledore nodded resignedly and turned on Ron before the younger wizard could even move. The Headmaster performed the spell needed and quietly placed the suggestion into Ron's head, "Miss Granger is still asleep and resting comfortably." Ron's eyes slid in and out of focus before suddenly clearing and he nodded understandingly.

"Come on, Harry," Ron said quietly lest he disturb his slumbering friend. "Let's go to breakfast, we'll see Hermione after classes."

"You go along, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly. "I just need to speak with Mr Potter for a moment." Ron nodded and left the room. "It is just temporary, Harry, until we know exactly what is going on."

"I thought you said it was under control," Harry reminded him.

"Oh it is, it is…it will be," Dumbledore corrected himself at the twin glares he received from Hermione and Snape. "Until then, please keep it under your hat."

"Okay," Harry agreed tentatively. "Hermione, let me know if you need _anything_," he stressed.

"Thanks, Harry, I will," Hermione assured her best friend with a tight smile. Harry nodded to the professors and Madam Pomfrey and gave Hermione a reassuring hug before he left the room to catch up with Ron. He knew Dumbledore would sort everything out.

"And if the fates didn't hate _me_ so much, there goes your would-be husband," Snape drawled.

"What?" Hermione asked with a confused expression.

"If I hadn't come along when I did and pushed Potter out of the way, the spell would have hit him and it would have been him you nearly deafened this morning with your shrill screaming," Snape pointed out.

Hermione paled suddenly and grabbed the bucket that Ron had recently been spewing slugs into, throwing up into it as well.

'_I guess that's something, she wasn't physically ill at the thought of having had sex with_ me,' Snape thought as he watched the young woman's reaction to possibly being soul-bound to the young man she thought of as a brother.

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_THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of them and hope you continue to enjoy the story._


	5. The Joys of Dealing With a Bureaucracy

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Any characters or locations you recognise are the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. I make no money from the writing of this story._

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**Chapter 5 – The Joys of Dealing with a Bureaucracy**

Minerva and Snape cancelled their classes for the day and set essays for homework. Hermione was likewise excused from her classes and Dumbledore escorted all three of them to the Ministry of Magic to attend the Office of Magical Registrations.

Despite having given her name to the security wizard as '_Hermione Granger_', the little name tag that was printed said something else entirely.

"Sez 'Ermione Snape 'ere," the guard said, reading out the tag for her.

"Fine," she seethed through clenched teeth, snatching the little sticker from the wizard and affixing it high on her robe, almost on her shoulder. She drew her hair forth and draped it across the name tag, obscuring it as much as possible. Dumbledore led them straight to the correct office in which to register their new magical signatures as instructed.

Despite her agitation, Hermione was impressed with the efficiency of the bureaucracy although mildly disgusted with the way in which everyone they encountered seemed to just blindly accept the fact that she was now soul bonded with her professor. She had been struck with the same mild disgust when she had been adopted by Minerva. Then her concern had been due to the ease in which the adoption papers were procured, signed and stamped as official. She had been thrilled for herself of course, the situation she found herself in had been abominable and to have Minerva agree to be her guardian and ultimately her new mother made her ecstatic at not having to face life alone, but she wondered if it was always this easy. How many children had ended up in unsuitable homes over the years just because whatever witch or wizard had the right paperwork filled out correctly in triplicate?

"Perhaps we should look at moving your quarters finally, Severus," Dumbledore said conversationally while they waited for the clerk to file their new signature paperwork and produce copies for them.

"Whatever for, Albus?" Snape asked derisively.

"Your quarters are hardly big enough for you and a wife, Severus. And who knows, the pitter-patter of tiny feet may soon come along…"

Two shouts of "ALBUS!" and one of "PROFESSOR!" effectively stopped any further comments from Dumbledore regarding their living situation. He shrugged philosophically and shelved the thought in his mind for further discussion at a later date.

Once they were in the office of Marigold Brown, who was currently ensuring they had filled out _her_ forms correctly, Snape asked the question that had been plaguing him since they had discovered this whole mess. "Just which type of bond are we dealing with here?"

"Why a soul bond of course," was the vague reply.

"Thank you, we are aware of that," Snape spat viciously. "Which specific soul bond is it?"

"I don't know," Mrs Brown replied.

"But your letter said it was quite rare," Hermione pointed out. "How would you know that if you didn't know which bond it was?"

"They are all quite rare," was the unhelpful response. "Soul bonding fell out of favour in the 1600's. It is only the most committed couples who perform soul bonds nowadays."

"But we didn't!" Hermione told the witch. "It was performed _on_ us, against our wills!"

"Speaking of wills, you'd best update yours to include each other, you never know when disaster is going to strike," the bureaucratic drone said brightly, as though she had not even heard what Hermione said. She disappeared behind a wall without saying anything further.

"Married to the witch who is best friends with the Boy-Who-Lived, I'd say disaster might strike any second," Snape muttered under his breath. Hermione heard him and gave him a soft swat on his arm.

Mrs Brown returned at that juncture and handed them both a document. Hermione caught the words '_Last Will and Testament_' across the top of hers and looked up in surprise. Snape had already unrolled his and picked up a quill. "You're not really going to change your will, are you?" she asked nervously.

"Why not?" Snape asked in return, as though he were fed up with the whole thing and had decided to just capitulate. "I may as well leave my worldly possessions to you as to Minerva. You are her legal daughter; you would have ended up with them eventually anyway." It was at that point that Snape realised that at this moment, he was technically the son-in-law of the Transfiguration professor. Judging by the smirk on her face, Minerva had come to the same conclusion.

Hermione tentatively opened her will and quickly read over the contents. Right now it merely stated that all her assets were to be left in trust to benefit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to better the conditions of the house elves who served there. She thought back to the predicament she had found herself in this morning. She was currently on no form of birth control and she did not know if Snape was. Nor did she know if any type of contraception charm was cast last night. Calculating quickly, she could not with certainty say that now was a period of time where she would be safe from pregnancy—best not to take any chances.

She added a codicil to her will that if she were to perish but a child or children of her body survived her, then her assets were to be left in trust for said child or children, to be split equally upon the age of majority of the youngest child. The interest earned could be used to the benefit of the children and the capital could be accessed to contribute towards their education at any time. She listed the trustees as Minerva McGonagall, Harry Potter and Severus Snape. She also added that custody of the children should remain with their father unless he was proven to be unfit, then they should go into Harry's custody.

Once Snape had finished adding a very similar clause to his will as Hermione had to hers, he rolled it up and tapped it with his wand. Handing the scroll back to Mrs Brown, he asked, "How can we dissolve this bond?"

"Why would you want to do that?" she asked in confusion. "You consummated it."

"UNCONSCIOUSLY!"

"That is beside the point. Oh dear, this does complicate things." She tutted as though Snape and Hermione had purposely done this to make her life difficult. "You will have to study your particular bond and discover its sole dissolution method."

"_Sole_ dissolution method?" Hermione repeated.

"Oh yes, all soul bonds were created for eternity. Once joined there is generally no going back. There will be a failsafe but it will be unique to this bond. Which one did you use?"

"WE DON'T KNOW!" Hermione and Snape shouted in unison.

Dumbledore quickly pushed Snape from in front of the desk. In his own inimitable style he managed to placate the clerk while Snape paced in the background, muttering about senseless bureaucracies and inept Weasleys whose days were numbered while Minerva pacified her daughter who was whispering furiously about what she was going to do to Ronald when she got her hands on him. A lifetime of scrubbing cauldrons would seem like a picnic by the time she was through with him. She had begun to prepare herself for the possible consequences of last night, but Merlin help her if she was just going to take everything lying down!

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Once they returned to the castle, paperwork in hand, the group split up. Snape headed straight for his dungeon office, Dumbledore to his tower and Minerva to her classroom after giving her daughter a farewell hug and an entreaty to come to her at any time if she felt the need for comfort. Hermione promised Minerva she would seek her out if necessary and headed for Gryffindor Tower. She had the afternoon free of classes and she just wanted to curl up in her room in solitude; being Head Girl had its perks after all. Alas, it was not meant to be. No sooner had Hermione entered the common room than she was accosted by Harry, quietly demanding to know all the details of what had transpired.

"But…but you can't stay married to him!" Harry furiously whispered once Hermione had finished relating her morning at the Ministry. "He's… old! And a git! And… old!"

"Okay, firstly he's not that old, he's the same age as Remus and your mum and dad," Hermione whispered back. Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I heard it, too," she said irritably. "The point is it's not that bad. He's nineteen years older than me, my dad was sixteen years older than my mum and they made it work up until the moment they died so age is not a consideration for me. As for being a git, well, that's just something I'll have to deal with for now until we sort this all out. I mean I am hoping beyond hope that we find the dissolution spell but I have to be prepared for if we don't."

"No, I won't accept that," Harry said stubbornly. "You will find that spell! You're Hermione Granger; you're a walking, talking fountain of knowledge. Failure is not an option!"

"Thanks, Harry, way to put the pressure on," she said sarcastically. "By the way, I had to update my will. If I have a child and I die, you are listed as one of the trustees to look after it and make sure everything's in order."

"WHAT?!" Hermione shushed him frantically. "What?!" Harry repeated at a much lower volume. "Where the hell did a comment like that come from?"

"You were in the room this morning; did it not occur to you to question why Professor Snape and I were both wrapped only in sheets?" Hermione asked.

"No, I… I don't know, I didn't really notice that much what with all the yelling and the hexing and the slugs… wait, you were wrapped in sheets? Because you were…_naked_? But Dumbledore and McGonagall were there… I think you've missed out something rather vital in your story, Hermione." Harry looked at her sternly.

Hermione sighed. She was so thankful it was only Harry here talking to her. At least the two of them were able to be rational and calm. Sort of. "A side effect of the spell was that we appear to have unconsciously consummated our bond," she whispered, looking around to make sure there was still no one listening. "Evidence this morning points to the very real possibility that it was done with no protection. Again, I have to be prepared if that's the case," she said.

Harry's face immediately turned red. '_Please be embarrassment, please be embarrassment_,' Hermione chanted in her head. Harry closed his eyes and visibly counted to ten. Not for the first time was Hermione completely grateful for the influence Remus Lupin now had over Harry as his father-figure. The werewolf had gone to great lengths over the last year and a half to teach Harry how to control his emotions and reactions. The proof of it paying off was in front of her now.

Harry had collected his emotions by the time he opened his eyes again. He reached out and placed one of his hands over hers. "You know I'm here for you, right? I mean anything you need, any time, day or night. You're my best friend; I can count on you for everything. I want you to be able to count on me too," he said earnestly.

Tears instantly sprang to Hermione's eyes and she clasped Harry in a tight hug. "Thank you, Harry. I really don't know what I'd do without you," she said.

"You'd never leave the library for a start," Harry quipped. Hermione slapped the back of his head and let him go. She did giggle at his words though.

"Actually Professor Snape pointed out something very interesting this morning after you left the Hospital Wing." At Harry's questioning expression, Hermione explained, "He said the spell was heading straight for the two of us and he pushed you out of its way. If it had have hit, _we_ would be the ones who were soul bonded, married and had sex without knowing it."

Luckily Hermione was watching Harry's face as she told him this. She had mere seconds in which to conjure a bucket for Harry to be sick in. After losing his lunch and vanishing the remnants, Harry apologised for his reaction. "I'm sorry, Hermione, it's not that you're repulsive or anything; it's just you and me and… no," he said, shaking his head. He still looked vaguely nauseated.

"Don't worry, darling-would-be-husband, I reacted exactly the same way."

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_Thank you for all the reviews and alerts and favourites that keep rolling in with this story. Each and every one is truly welcomed and appreciated._


	6. In the Same Predicament

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling et al. Any characters or locations you recognise are the intellectual property of these individuals and corporations. I make no money from the writing of this story._

_Thank you for all the lovely reviews, I hope you like this chapter. Thanks again to Kallanit and LadyStiff for being the best cheerleaders ever :)_

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**Chapter 6 – In the Same Predicament**

The rest of the afternoon passed quite quickly for Hermione. The same could not be said for Snape.

Taking advantage of the rare, free afternoon, he sequestered himself in his office with Dumbledore's Pensieve and Weasley's memory. For the tenth time he prepared to immerse himself in the shimmery substance inside the ancient bowl to try and decipher just what it was the imbecilic redhead had said. The only words he had been able to make out with any clarity were '_formare'_ and '_animus'_—'_bind'_ and '_souls'_. He could have worked that out for himself.

For the tenth time Snape pulled himself from the memory. He resisted the urge to hurl the Pensieve across the room. "How is it possible that someone can say something and actually remember it as '_blah, formare animus, blah, blah, blah, blah'_?" Snape asked into the empty room. Weasley's mouth was even forming the word '_blah'_ in the memory!

Being immersed in the recollection itself was infuriating Snape beyond measure. Not only did the imbecile not remember what he said, but the surroundings were wildly biased and exaggerated. Snape had never seen anything like it. There was no evidence of the memory having been tampered with so what Snape saw was exactly how Weasley observed life around him.

The students in the hall were attired in either bold, vivid red Gryffindor uniforms, or sickly-green looking Slytherin uniforms or plain black. Snape did notice the number of students who appeared to have daggers, swords and arrows sticking through various parts of their bodies. He made a mental note to have Minerva speak a word with Arthur or Molly Weasley and just make sure their son was not harbouring truly murderous thoughts toward his fellow students. Most of the protuberance inflicted souls were members of house Quidditch teams (and a few noteworthy Slytherins) so Snape was fairly confident it was in fact mere fancy the boy was indulging in.

Somewhere off to the side of the memory was a glowering, menacing presence which Snape could only deduce was him. When he thought about where he had been on the day, it correlated with what Weasley remembered, which only proved to further cement Snape's belief that Ron Weasley was truly the dunderhead of that family. Snape shuddered to think how Ginevra Weasley might have turned out had she been a boy. The Weasley children had seemed to go down a spiralling path of intelligence and ability, resurging once more with the female Weasley. A seventh boy would possibly have been nothing more than a drooling idiot. '_Little prick practically owes me a life-debt from the werewolf incident and he thinks _I'm_ menacing._'

The Potions Master was also concerned with the amount of female students around the hall dressed in nothing but skimpy underwear. Given that he was fully cognisant of his surroundings the previous day; he shuddered to think that Weasley indulged in this kind of ogling on a regular basis. Luckily for the redhead, none of them were Snape's wife.

Snape swallowed heavily when that thought registered in his mind. Why was he concerned with how Weasley saw Granger? Yes, he had noticed over the preceding months that the girl was now a woman, it was hard not to when they lived under the same roof. Several times over the summer and the recent Christmas holidays Snape had joined Minerva and Hermione in their quarters for tea or a meal—he had even had them in his quarters once or twice for discussion and debate following dinner in the Great Hall.

Uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts were taking him, Snape decided to call it a day. He picked up the latest edition of _Potions Monthly_ from his desk and sat in his chair, ready to immerse himself in the enthralling world of potions research.

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The next morning, Hermione awoke feeling safe, warm and comforted. She also felt oddly satisfied, a pleasant sensation was radiating throughout her body. As she breathed in her first conscious breath of the morning, her pillow suddenly shifted and the '_safe'_ feeling she had tightened around her. As she had done the previous morning, she screamed… loudly.

Her pillow took a dive straight to the floor and came up with his wand in his hand. It did not save him from the beating he suddenly took with her real pillow.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?"

_Smack!_

"YOU HAD SEX WITH ME AGAIN!"

_Smack!_

"YOU'RE NAKED AGAIN!"

_Smack! Smack!_

"HOW DID YOU EVEN GET IN HERE?"

_Smack!_

"MISS GRANGER! Cease this infernal caterwauling this instant, you egregious shrew! Do you seriously think I would risk the wrath of the head lioness herself by coming in here to engage in sexual relations with you? I am assuming that is what happened based on our lack of attire and the once-again feeling of various secretions upon my person."

"Must you be so crude?" Hermione asked snippily.

"Must you provide me with a complete view of your mammary glands?" Another pillow smacked him in the face before he was treated to a full view of her posterior as she bounded across the room to retrieve a dressing gown hanging on the wardrobe door. He felt a momentary pang of disappointment when the pink terry-cloth gown obstructed his view. It was a very nice posterior…

Snape shook the thought off and quickly grabbed a blanket from the bed, wrapping it around himself before she could see the physical reaction to her nakedness. '_Purely physical—any man would react the same way to seeing a naked woman who was not assaulting him with a pillow. Although the aggression is quite a turn-on; anger really brings out the passion within her…_' He hurriedly gathered his clothes that were strewn around the room and stalked into the bathroom to dress. When he returned to the bedroom, Granger was surprisingly civil.

"Did you see the memory?" she asked.

"Unfortunately; the memory of a seventeen year old boy is not the most pleasant of places. I highly recommend you do not look at it," he replied. The depiction of Granger in the memory was nothing compared to how she truly looked. Her hair was about four times larger and much shorter than it actually was. Her actual hair flowed down her back in soft, tamed curls; Weasley saw it as the frizzy mess it was in her pre-adolescent years.

In the memory, her eyes were a dull, insipid brown; nothing like the fiery, gold-flecked pods of molten chocolate they really were. Likewise her skin was depicted with the splotchy, red-spotted epidermis of young adolescence, not the perfectly smooth, healthy ivory colour it was now. '_Wait—how do I know all of this?' _A little voice inside his head helpfully reminded him that she was much taller than Weasley thought as well.

"Perhaps I may be able to offer a different perspective," Hermione suggested.

Snape shrugged his shoulders. If his opinion was going to be ignored then she deserved to see how her close friend viewed her. _'Note to self: don't let her see a pensieved vision of herself from _my_ point of view._'

"I think we should address how we came to find ourselves in the predicament we awoke to once more," Snape said.

"The last thing I remember is reading _The Lamen_—a book before I went to sleep." Snape raised his eyebrows at her hasty correction. He wondered what she was reading that she did not want him to know about. "What about you?"

"I read an article in _Potions Monthly_ and did some marking before going to sleep also," he replied.

"Really?" she asked enthusiastically. "Which one was it? Only because I read an article in there two days ago regarding the extraction of dioxin from foxglove and I thought it was simply ground breaking!"

"Thank you, Miss Granger, while I would love to stand here and listen to you wax lyrical about my '_ground breaking_' work, I do believe we have more pressing matters to discuss right now."

"You wrote that? But I didn't see your name; I would've remembered… oh, it was by Anonymous."

Snape was grudgingly impressed that she would remember a single article in a journal containing twenty that _one_ of them was by an anonymous author. Snape had learned early in his teaching career not to submit his work under his own name. Students tended to try and impress him by quoting his work or, even worse, trying his theories.

Potions journals were for those in the craft, not novice students. Dumbledore and the editor of Potions Monthly both agreed that he should submit his articles anonymously. In the potions community it was the worst kept secret that '_Anonymous'_ was in fact Severus Snape, but the other masters understood and concurred with the decision.

"So twice now we have gone to sleep in separate beds and woken together naked, obviously having engaged in sexual relations and have absolutely no recollection of how we have come together," Snape summed up.

"I agree," Hermione replied. She blushed as she remembered his nakedness. Between hitting him with the pillow and as he was gathering his things to go into the bathroom to change, Hermione had caught a glimpse or two at his chest. It was the chest of her dreams! There was just enough chest hair to be manly, but not too much to be animalistic. Nice, defined pectoral muscles, but not beefcake. His abdominal area also looked trim and defined. The back view of him was not bad either. A few scars littered his skin, but nothing horrific—and no back hair, thank Merlin. If the rest of his body was as nice…

Both felt a slight pang that they had managed to have sex twice now and had no recollection if it had been good or not. Snape shook it off first to speak, "We need to discover that spell soon." Merlin only knew what would happen if one of her housemates barged in right now. As if on cue, Ginny Weasley burst through the door.

"Hermione, you have to help me with this—" she broke off abruptly when she registered Professor Snape standing in Hermione's rooms, his outer robes unbuttoned, and her friend standing in her dressing gown, hands covering her mouth and with an absolutely mortified look on her face. Ginny also registered the bed which looked as though it had gone ten rounds in a duelling match the night before.

"What…" she asked in confusion before Hermione abruptly pulled her fully into the room and closed the door. Snape drew his wand in preparation to Obliviate her. Only her scream and Hermione's shrill, '_NO!_' stayed his hand. Hermione stood partially in front of her younger friend as though to protect her.

"Ginny we can trust. If I ask her to not to say anything then she won't," Hermione affirmed determinedly. Ginny nodded her head in emphatic agreement. She had seen Snape in action and she did not want to be on the receiving end of a spell from his wand.

"This is a delicate matter, Miss Granger," Snape said exasperatedly. "The more people who know, the greater is the risk of exposure."

"I trust Ginny," Hermione repeated. "She won't expose or betray us."

"I won't, Professor, I swear" Ginny said earnestly. Right now she would promise to tap dance in her underwear on the Gryffindor table to find out what was going on! She would be disappointed though.

"I'll come and find you later," Hermione said. It was Saturday so they would be able to have a long chat. Ginny reluctantly left the room. Hermione locked the door after her.

"If she breathes a word…" Snape left the threat open.

"She won't," Hermione said firmly. She promised herself to sit patiently through a Quidditch conversation with Harry and Ginny to repay her friends for their discretion. "Do you think we may find ourselves in the same predicament tomorrow morning?" she asked nervously.

"I cannot say," Snape replied. He was annoyed he did not know the answer to this already. "Find that book today and find the spell. I will check the Restricted Section in the library for all I can find. Perhaps you, Miss Weasley and Mr Potter can all view the memory and see what you can garner from it. I'm sure you all speak '_Ronald Weasley_'—you may have better luck than me," he sneered. "Failing all that, I propose you spend tonight in your mother's quarters. We can bring her up to speed. You can feign illness or discomfort to explain your absence to your housemates but if we do find ourselves in the same situation, perhaps she may be able to shed some light on how."

"Alright," Hermione agreed. She would send Ron after Luna Lovegood at breakfast. That would tie him up for the day. She knew Luna had plans to harvest Cry Violets from the very northern edge of the school grounds. It would be a day-long excursion and the redhead would follow the diminutive, dreamy blonde anywhere. If she had been present in his memory, Snape would have seen her surrounded by a halo of delicate apple blossoms and with gossamer wings extending from her back. Of course the memory would have been completely useless had Luna been anywhere in the vicinity, but then there probably would have been no need for an examination of the memory in the first place—Ron would not have been so bored.

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_Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter._

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